Tuesday, August 10, 2004

Pope John Paul II to Visit Lourdes

Pope John Paul II will once again thrust aside concerns over his failing health when he travels to the French Pyrenees town of Lourdes next weekend for the 104th foreign visit of his pontificate

...After his arrival on Saturday, the pope will say the Angelus at the grotto. Later in the day, he will recite the rosary there and preside over the recitation of the Stations of the Cross, ending at the basilica of Lourdes where he is to read a prayer to close the ceremony. In the evening he will preside over a torchlit procession from the grotto to the town’s huge basilica where the pontiff will read a prayer he himself has written.

The next day, the pope will go to the sacristy of the Church of Sainte Bernadette near the Sanctuary of Lourdes where he will celebrate mass and deliver a homily.